It is well known that the formulation of detergent compositions, for either automatic laundering or dishwashing operations, in paste-form, offers several desirable advantages to the consumer. For example, the paste-form compositions may be sold in a concentrated form, so that the consumer may use smaller, more manageable amounts of them for each wash load, thereby eliminating the necessity of storing large volumes of the compositions when they are not in use. In addition, the paste-form detergent compositions are easily dispensed and reduce the chance of spillage and waste when they are being measured out for use.
The art is replete with disclosures of processes useful for making toothpaste-type compositions. Examples of such processes are found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,947,635, Bergve, issued Feb. 20, 1934; U.S. Pat. No. 2,751,328, Sanders, issued June 19, 1956; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,703,578, Cella et al, issued Nov. 21, 1972. However, the presence of relatively high levels of inorganic components, particularly silicates, which are generally found in laundry or automatic dishwasher detergent formulations, create problems when these compositions are sought to be formulated as pastes, which are not present in the formulation of toothpaste-type compositions. The presence of these components in paste-form detergent compositions, particularly where only a minimum amount of liquid components is included, causes the compositions to "set up", which is a recrystallization of the inorganic components in the compositions. This "setting up" is undesirable since it drastically reduces the flow properties of the paste compositions, making the manufacturing and dispensing of the compositions quite difficult.
It has been found, however, that by using the process of the present invention alkaline, silicate-containing, paste-form detergent compositions, which retain their dispensing and flow properties, can be formulated.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an economical process whereby alkaline, silicate-containing, paste-form detergent compositions can be produced.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a process whereby alkaline, silicate-containing, paste-form detergent compositions, which are not prone to setting up, can be produced.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a process whereby paste-form detergent compositions exhibiting good flow properties, and which therefore are easy to manufacture and dispense, can be produced.